EA prioritized Anthem and ignored the success of Mass Effect Andromeda

In a new video published on YouTube, Mark Darrah, former executive producer of Dragon Age, openly criticized the way Electronic Arts (EA) handled the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda in 2017. According to Darrah, the change in leadership structure within EA made the publisher appear "uninterested" in the success of the game, preferring to bet all its chips on Anthem, a project that would fail two years later.

"One of the projects they were not particularly interested in was Mass Effect Andromeda, because they had little to gain from its success, nor much to lose from its failure," Darrah stated. "I believe one of the reasons EA turned the page so quickly was because the leadership to which we answered had little emotional or strategic involvement with the project. They wanted something new they could call 'theirs'."

Mass Effect: Andromeda, released in March 2017, hit stores with technical issues, criticism of the narrative and animations, but still had solid commercial performance. The game sold around 5 million copies in the first few months, but fell short of the impact of the franchise's previous three titles, starring Commander Shepard. Even after several updates and fixes, the game never regained the series' prestige.

Darrah also revealed that he and part of the Dragon Age team were reassigned to help with the "finaling" of Andromeda, which generated internal resentment. "The Dragon Age team felt they were being left behind. I myself led the finishing team that was put on Andromeda. If you look in the credits of the game, you'll see 'Dragon Age Finaling Team' - I'm there," he emphasized.

He classified the decision as dangerous: "It was the first time in Bioware's history that we had such a serious discontinuity of leadership. It is extremely risky to let a project go on without its central leaders while others help elsewhere."

The next step for Bioware was the development of Anthem, released in February 2019, which received a lukewarm reception, severe criticism for lack of endgame content and repetitive mechanics. The game even received promises of restructuring, the so-called "Anthem Next," which was ultimately canceled. Shortly after, both Mark Darrah and the then-general manager Casey Hudson announced their departure from the studio.

The case exposes the conflict between corporate decisions and the vision of creators within major publishers. The way Mass Effect: Andromeda was handled by EA had previously been criticized by other former Bioware employees, and now takes on new dimensions with Darrah's statements.

Bioware, currently, is working on the next Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, still without a confirmed release date, and on a new Mass Effect, officially revealed in 2020. Both projects carry the mission of restoring the developer's prestige, shaken by strategic decisions misaligned with creative development.